Treatment of vegetable fibrous material to produce woollike effects



Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT 0 FFICE- GEORGESHEBERLEIN, OF WATTWIL, SWITZERLAND,ASSIGNOR TO HEBERLEIN PAT- ENT CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TREATMENT OF VEGETABLE FIBROUS MATERIAL TO PRODUCE WOOLLIKE EFFECTS.

Nollrawing. Application filed October 30, 1926, Serial No. 145,381, andin Germany August 19, 1926.

. such as some of my own prior patents, that vegetable fabricsexperience a contraction'in consequence of treatment with reagents thathave a swelling action on the vegetable fibres if the reaction is alowedto take place without hindrance in a loose state of the goods, i. e.,without a counteracting tension; In consequence of the contraction ofthe fibres during the treatment the fabric becomes more dense and isgiven a certain wool-like character,

i. e., like fine thin woolen fabric.

The object'of the present invention is to obtain a woollike effect in asimple and less expensive manner than heretofore obtainable.

It has been discovered in accordance with 1 this invention thataugmented and more pronounced wool effects are obtained if causticalkali solutions of previous known merceriz ing strengths and preferablycaustic soda are caused to act upon the raw vegetable fibres,

while the material is allowed to lay loose to attain full shrinkage dueto the swelling agent, and if the usual bleaching by alkali boiling isentirely excluded; that is to say, if the fibres are subjected to anyalkali treatment before the swellingreagent acts, such alkali treatmentshall be simply a gentle bleaching, preferably a cold bleaching, asdistinguished from the customary alkali boil ing; and on the other hand,if there is to be no preliminary alkali treatment before the swellingreagent is applied, but there is to be an alkali treatment or bleachingafter the swelling agent acts, then again such subsequent alkalitreatment must be merely a gentle bleaching, preferably a coldbleaching, as distinguished from a bleaching by alkali boiling. Y It isessential that alkali boiling be excluded, and that if there is acleansing of the vegetable fibres before or after theswelling'treatments it should be merely a'careful cleansing withoutalkali boiling. It is important to keep the material in a loosestatethroughout the process-starting with the i. e., fibres which still havethe natural incrustations or coatings adhering to them and swellingagent, so as not to prevent or materially impair or reduce the fullyshrunk effects Even in drying, the material should only be stretchedenough to remove folds or creases.

An expedient method of procedure is, for example, to subject the rawfabrics to a weak preliminary cleansing to remove the dressing, say forexample with dilute acid or diastase or similar ferments, and theruponto introduce the fabrics into the caustic soluavian" tion. Aftercompletion of the swelling reac- .tion and removal of the surplusswelling agent, there follows the bleaching of the goods, provided suchbleaching is desired. In this oneshould proceed very gently, and ifbleaching is desired, it is best to adopt the means of cold bleachingand to avoid all alkaline boiling. The cold bleaching may be carried outby cold or only slightly heated alkaline hypochlorite solutions; coldhydrogen peroxide or sodium peroxide baths are also suitablen As analternative procedure, one may first subject the raw fabric to a gentlebleaching and then cause the caustic to act upon it.

The swelling must be carried out in such a manner that a tensing of thefabric is obviated. This maybe effected by carefully laying the fabricinto vats, or else use may be made of a machine for continuous treatmentof the fabric. Such a machine should provide suitable means forsubjecting the fabric in'an untensioned or loose state to the.

swelling agents as the fabric is moved along, and with meansforsqueezing out the excess swelling agent and for thereafter supportingthe fabric in loose-state, such as fanwise or in folds, and carrying italong, so that the contraction'of the fabric is'permitted to work itselfout completely due to the action of the swelling agent thereon, afterwhich the fabric may be passed through; suitable washing means andallowed to dry, care being taken goods are desized, that is, well washedout but not bleached or boiled} after which the goods are readyto betreated b the swelling 7' agent. 7 This may be done pre erably by theuse of some suitable machine by means of soda",

at a temperature of approximately (3-,

oughly.

which t goods is impregnated with the' swelling feagentwhich in thiscase is caustic a strength of approximately 30 B.

the goods being. subjected to this reagent while in loose state asstatedyand after such action b the reagent the are-not immediate ywashed out but are left in loose condition for say 10 or minutes underthe influence of the retained swelling ent, so that the gods have timeto shrx thorsome instances the goods may be impregnated twice beforethey.are left to la loose as stated. After the shrinkage has ta on place thegoods may be washed,

soured, again washed-and then dried without tension. Thatis to say, ingoods should only be stretched sufliciently to take out the folds butnot sufficiently to materiallydreduce or counteract the-shrinkageobtaine The result is a wool-like finish of the gen eralcharacter ofthat described and claimed 1n my United States'Patent No. 1,392,264,

' granted September 27, 1921, obtainable in a less expensive and moreready manner. 7

The process may be applied to all kinds of fabrics, to woven and knitgoods, embroidery,

as well as all other vegetable fibrous products f that have asurface.This improvement is likewise applicable to products made of mixtures ofvegetable fibres with animal fibres aswell as with artificial fibrousmaterials.

In accordance with this invention the wellknown cre on effects can alsobe attained with specia softness by this means, that the swelling agentsare caused to act locally upon the raw or only slightly cleansedfabrics. At the spots where the swelling agent acts, the fibre contractsand a soft wool-like effect is formed, while the unchanged spots of thefabric bulge out like blisters or swollen parts. The apglication of theswelling agents may be ected by direct imprinting, or one may proceed bymeans of resist printing and su sequent impregnation. In the case of theresist printing, d es may .at the same time, in well-known fas "on, belocally incorporated-in the fibre, or fabrics'thathave been previouslydyed may be locallydischarged by means of the resist so .as to be whiteor colored. By means of subsequent.

d eing.:of the crepon effects manifold dye e ects are obtained. a

While I have described myinvention with particularity in accordance withone preferred method of carrying out the same, it will be obvious tothose skilled-in the art,

after understanding my invention, that varione modifications and changesmag be made therein, and I aim in theappende I claim drying the.

the process of claim 2.

claims-to the material in loose state and under the in fluence of saidcaustic alkali until said mar te'rial has been swollen by said causticalkali 'and substantially fully shrunk, then treating i the material soas to eliminatefurther efi'ect' of the caustic alkali, and dryingth'material without such stretching as would substantially reduce .theattained shrinkage and without subjecting the materialto-an alkali i 2.Process of producing wool-like effects on fabrics containingvegetable'fibres i. e., effects like fine thin woolen fabric, whichcomprises taking such fabric which has not been subjected to an alkaliboiling and. treating such fabric in loose state with caustic alkali.

of,suflicient strength; to produces. substantial swelling action on'thevegetable fibres,-main-. tainin the fabric in loose state and under. thein uence of saidicaustic for several minutes and until said fibres have"been swollenj by 'said caustic and substantially fullyshrunk, thentreatingthe fabric so as to eliminate the further effect bysaid caustic,and drying the fabric without such stretching as would substantiallyreduce the attained shrinkage and without'subjecting the fabric to analkali boiling.

3. Process of producing wool-like effects. on fabric containing cottonfibres,'i.oe., effects like fine thin woolen fabric, which comprisestaking for treatment such fabrics in the grey or raw state, treating theraw fabric in loose state'with caustic soda of sufficient strength toproduce a substantial swelling action on the cotton fibres, maintainingthe fabric in loose state and under the influence of said caustic forseveral minutes and said cotton fibres have been swollen by said causticand substantially "fully shrunk, and A then washingand drying the fabricwithout such stretchln as would substantially reduce the attainedshrinkage, andfwithout subjecting the fabric toan alkali boiling- 4,Wool-like'efiect fabrics, i. e., like. fine thin woolen fabric, made inaccordance with Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification,

GEORGES HEBERLEIN',

